Blocking
by Little Gem Magnolia
Summary: When your parents are divorced but still in love and stubborn, you'll do anything to make sure they don't do something they'll regret. After all, daughter knows best.


_Blocking_

**Summary**: When your parents are divorced but still in love and stubborn, you'll do anything to make sure they don't do something they'll regret. After all, daughter knows best.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Mortal Kombat or any of the characters.

**Authors Note**: So this is my first Mortal Kombat fic. It was inspired by MKX and takes place after that game. Just a bit of Cage family fluff because Jonya is love, even if they don't know it. As it is my first fic for this particular fandom, I'm still getting the hang of writing these characters so if anyone is OOC, I apologize in advance.

**0000**

"You did what!?" Jacqui practically yelled in what Cassie hoped was an empty locker room.

The young sergeant had the grace to look sheepish as she whispered, "I sort of shadow kicked the hell out of my mom's new commanding officer," from behind her locker door. A deep shade of crimson took over her face as she remembered the incident and Jacqui absently noted that this was the first time in all the years of their friendship that she'd ever seen the blonde blush.

The product of a Cage-family trait to be absolutely shameless, no doubt.

"And the general is actually allowing you to live?"

Cassie's blue eyes narrowed before rolling toward the ceiling in irritation. "_The general_," she mocked irreverently. "Doesn't know yet."

Jacqui opened her mouth to interject, more than likely with something negative, but Cassie quickly shushed her and continued.

"And since the colonel was pretty cool about it, I don't see any reason why she needs to know." She paused, rolling her shoulders and fixing her meddling friend with a stern glare. "Besides, my five thousand push up debt has been paid. What more could she do to me?"

"Burpees, suicides," Jacqui suggested archly before going in for the kill. "Latrine duty..."

Cassie paled for a moment before clearing her throat. "Which is exactly why she doesn't need to know."

"Word travels fast around the base. Give it up, Cass, she's gonna find out. She always finds out... " Jacqui reminded ominously with a shiver, more than likely remembering one of the many times they'd been caught doing something mischievous by a very angry Sonya Blade. Or more accurately, one of the many times _Cassie_ had been caught and had taken her along for the ride.

"Would you quit worrying so much?" Cassie huffed, slamming her locker shut with a bang. "Whatever you're remembering happened when I was living with mom. I live with dad now, and he's way cooler about this kind of thing than she is." A beat went by and then: "Anyway it was his own fault, the guy was way too informal. Dad will back me up. "

Jacqui barked out a laugh and playfully shoved her shoulder. "I don't think the '_dad would have done it_' argument is going to hold up well with your mom."

"No but at least it'll get daddy in my corner. It'll be two against one and we have experience dealing with her." Cassie assured confidently.

"Right. When you don't show up for strength training tomorrow, I'll make sure they give you a nice funeral."

**0000**

Cassie sighed as she quietly shut the door to her mom's apartment. Jacqui may have had a point earlier about her mom's all-knowing omnipotence and maybe there _was_ something to confessing and nipping the issue in the bud before the grapevine reached her. Surely there was something to be said for fessing up on her own and taking responsibility, right? Cause if there wasn't, this would go down in history as the first and last time anyone would ever catch Cassandra Carlton Cage being mature.

If there were no brownie points to be gained it just wasn't worth it.

"Mom?" she called timidly.

Silence.

_Well that's odd,_ she thought as she threw her keys on the table by the door and slipped out of her shoes. Ever since she'd moved in with her dad, her mother usually went ape shit anytime she decided to come over.

"Mom?" she tried again, listening for any movement in the small apartment.

Finally she detected movement in the kitchen and her shoulders sagged in relief as she made that her goal. Determination took over as she drew closer. If she chickened out now, she'd never fess up; she needed to be set in her course of action. But in all honesty, how do you tell the most stern woman in the world that you knocked out her superior officer because you thought he was getting..._ fresh_, for lack of a better term?

Somehow Cassie doubted that: "Hey mom, I broke the colonel's ribs because I thought he was a creep. Turns out he's not and everything's okay now," would go over well.

Taking a deep breath and steeling herself for the imminent and explosive dose of disapproval headed her way, she pushed her way into the kitchen...to see her mother making out with some guy up against their refrigerator! Okay so maybe it was her _mother's_ refrigerator but still, she got _food_ out of that fridge. It was an exceptional appliance and didn't deserve this type of sacrilege. Cassie didn't deserve bearing witness to this transgression!

Her parents were _supposed_ to be working things out and here her mom was, being violated against the best refrigerator in existence and _giggling_ like some teenager.

Crossing her arms over her chest and clearing her throat, Cassie took great pleasure in watching both figures freeze at being caught.

Raising a brow archly as she caught her mom's floored stare over the man's shoulder, Cassie shook her head. "You know I expect this sort of thing from dad," she began, holding up a hand as Sonya opened her mouth to interject. "I mean he's the emotionally dependent and occasionally downright clingy party in this fucked up..._thing_ you two have but you? I expected more from you, mom."

Dropping her head to her hand and beginning to pace, Cassie missed Sonya's eyes narrowing in irritation and the still faceless man pinning her to the refrigerator stop her from moving into action.

"I mean that's how I was able to handle that fling he had with that twenty-something tramp right after your divorce. I knew he didn't love her and he was just being a man but how am I supposed to take this?"

Cassie briefly ceased her pacing to achieve eye contact with her mother, searching for an answer and when she received none, continued moving about the kitchen in a rushed and agitated manner.

"And in the kitchen of all places!" she exclaimed suddenly, making Sonya flinch away from the high volume in such a confined space. "What did you tell me about the sanctity of the kitchen and comforts of a bedroom that time you found me with Derek?"

Lost in her story, the youngest Cage missed the stiffening of the man's spine, the look he shot her mother and the sheepish one he received in return.

"You told me that fooling around in the kitchen wasn't a good idea, followed by that _horrific_ story of how you and dad broke our kitchen table and what _really_ happened to our toaster, and that the bedroom was a much more comfortable alternative."

"Sonya!"

At her father's indignant growl, Cassie finally looked up only to look back down again.

_Please tell me I didn't see what I just saw,_ she mentally pleaded.

Looking back up, Cassie confirmed that she had, indeed, caught her parents doing the thing that leads to the act that shall remain nameless when used in conjunction with her parents in the kitchen. The kitchen that she still **eats** in on occasion.

Looking back at the two, Cassie found her mother on the receiving end of the patent Cage-glare.

"You told her what?"

Sonya shrugged. "She's a big girl, she can handle herself," she began slowly, eyes brightening as she thought of something. "Weren't you the one telling me that a couple of months ago?"

Johnny scoffed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "That's different. Then she was beating Shinnok's face in, this is something else entirely."

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Don't be such a man. If she can handle Shinnok, I think she can handle one guy."

Cassie scoffed. "Damn right I can," she boasted confidently. "Besides, you never met Derek. He didn't even know a left hook from an upper cut; couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag if he had to. I had that shit on lock."

Her father whirled around on her at that. "Oh really?"

She nodded smugly.

"Well then would you care to explain about my apparent intimate clinginess?"

For the second time within twenty four hours, Cassie's face heated in shame.

"Actually she said_ emotional dependence_ and_ occasional_ clinginess."

Johnny swung his glare back around toward his ex wife.

"What? I didn't say it," she defended. A pause and then: "She's_ your_ daughter, remember?"

Steel blue eyes cut back in Cassie's direction and she laughed nervously. "Hey I was looking out for you. You could at least say_ thank you_."

Sonya cleared her throat and stepped forward. "Speaking of," she began, tone turning motherly. "You have no right to chastise me, young lady. Not after the things I've walked in on you doing."

Another growl escaped her father but Cassie ignored him for the time being. "The difference is, I'm not the one in couples counseling. And don't think you're special or anything. Dad's had his fair share of lectures over the years."

Sonya's eyes narrowed as she turned her attention back to her ex. "Which brings me to another good point. What_ twenty-something tramp_ that you had a fling with right after our divorce?"

This time it was Johnny's face that sported a crimson glow. "I was distraught?"

"Now, mom, it's not like you were an angel after the big D. Remember Roger?"

Johnny once again rounded on his little girl. "I thought you said there was nothing going on between her and Roger."

Cassie shrugged. "I lied." Her father started to speak but she cut him off. "Well you were gettin' some, mom needed some too... Jesus Christ what am I saying?"

"You used our daughter as an informant in our divorce?"

And as her mother's tone crept into dog whistle territory, Cassie slowly backed out of the kitchen, retrieved her shoes and keys and quietly left the apartment. If she knew her parents like she knew she did, there was only one way arguments like this ended and that was one encore performance she'd happily skip out on.

At least they were talking.

**0000**

_Please review!_


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